IT and Business Alignment PG (6683.5)

Please note these are the 2021 details for this unit
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IT and Business Alignment PG
Available teaching periods Delivery mode Location
View teaching periods On-campus
 Bruce, Canberra
EFTSL Credit points Faculty
0.125 3 Faculty Of Science And Technology
Discipline Study level HECS Bands
Academic Program Area - Technology Post Graduate Level Band 2 2021 (Commenced After 1 Jan 2021)
Band 3 2021 (Commenced Before 1 Jan 2021)
This unit addresses strategic issues relating to the adoption and use of information technology and systems in organisations. The unit explores business alignment, external and environmental issues, flexibility and responsiveness, value chains, and emerging trends in strategic IS management. Risks and resource issues are important aspects of strategic business and IS strategy. Ways of approaching a shared understanding of key processes include business systems thinking and IT-business relationship building and these approaches are included in this unit.

Learning outcomes

On completion of this unit, students will be able to:
1. Demonstrate the role that business analysts play in IT and business alignment and facilitate IT and business alignment across an organisation;
2. Assist in the planning, design and implementation of alignment activities; and
3. Evaluate the effectiveness of strategic IS management.


Graduate attributes

1. UC graduates are professional - communicate effectively
1. UC graduates are professional - display initiative and drive, and use their organisation skills to plan and manage their workload
1. UC graduates are professional - employ up-to-date and relevant knowledge and skills
1. UC graduates are professional - take pride in their professional and personal integrity
1. UC graduates are professional - use creativity, critical thinking, analysis and research skills to solve theoretical and real-world problems
2. UC graduates are global citizens - behave ethically and sustainably in their professional and personal lives
2. UC graduates are global citizens - communicate effectively in diverse cultural and social settings
2. UC graduates are global citizens - make creative use of technology in their learning and professional lives
2. UC graduates are global citizens - think globally about issues in their profession
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - adapt to complexity, ambiguity and change by being flexible and keen to engage with new ideas
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - be self-aware
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - evaluate and adopt new technology
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - reflect on their own practice, updating and adapting their knowledge and skills for continual professional and academic development


Skills development

This unit addresses strategic issues relating to the adoption and use of Information Technology (IT) and systems in organisations. Specifically, the unit explores the concept of IT and business alignment and illustrates multiple perspectives on how organisations can use IT to deliver business 'value', including the dynamic relationship between IT and business strategies. Information technology is constantly changing and will continue to transform organisations, presenting critical issues that must be managed including how organisations know if they are getting value from IT investments, how to build IT leadership, manage IT risks and resources and overall business unit structure, and how to leverage on new technologies for innovation, to mention a few. These real-world challenges are addressed in this unit in order to promote an understanding of how IT delivers value in contemporary organisations. 

 



Prerequisites

Enrolment in 846AA Master of Information Technology OR

Must have completed 18 credit points AND 6677 Systems Analysis and Modelling G OR

Students enrolled in version 1 or 2 of 309JA Master of Business Informatics must have completed 9 credit points at G or PG level.

Corequisites

None.

Incompatible units

None.

Equivalent units

None.

Assumed knowledge

None.
Availability for enrolment in 2026 is subject to change and may not be confirmed until closer to the teaching start date.
Year Location Teaching period Teaching start date Delivery mode Unit convener
2025 Bruce, Canberra Semester 1 03 February 2025 On-campus Dr Zeena Alsamarra'I
2026 Bruce, Canberra Semester 1 16 February 2026 On-campus Dr Zeena Alsamarra'I
Not available

Required texts

Required textbook: McKeen, JD & Smith, HA 2015, IT Strategy: Issues and Practices, 3rd edn, Pearson Education.

A copy of the textbook is available at UC's library.

This unit also relies upon contemporary academic papers and other reading materials and resources provided by professional organisations. Reading lists will be provided throughout the semester as needed, which can include additional reading from: McKeen, JD & Smith, HA 2021, IT Strategy & Innovation, 5th edn, Prospect Press. 

 

Submission of assessment items

Special assessment requirements

To pass this unit, you will need to satisfy the following conditions:

You must achieve at least 50% as a combined total of the available marks of the assessments (1, 2, 3, and 4). Once these conditions have been satisfied, grades will be awarded as per the following:  

Grade Letter

Grade Weighted

Marks

High Distinction

HD

85% - 100%

Distinction

DI

75% - 84%

Credit

CR

65% - 74%

Pass

P

50% - 64%

Fail

NX

0% - 49%

If there is any doubt with regard to the requirements of any particular assignments, take-home assessment or assessment procedure, the onus for clarifying the issue rests with the student who should contact the lecturer about the matter. Tutors will also be happy to assist in this regard.

1. Students should keep a copy of all assessment items that are submitted.

2. The unit convener reserves the right to question students on any of their submitted work for moderation and academic integrity purposes. 

3. The assessment criterion for answers to theoretical and technical questions is both 'correctness' and 'appropriate style' with correct referencing and citations.

4. The tutors will provide feedback to students on their assignments. Students are encouraged to seek individual feedback from the tutor/lecturer.

Referencing requirements:

All work quoted from other written sources should be appropriately referenced using the "author-date" (Harvard) style. This style is described in detail at UC Referencing Guide. 

Referencing is also required when using any GenAI tools which needs to be acknowledged as per the University's Referencing GenAI Guide. 

Students must apply academic integrity in their learning and research activities at UC. This includes submitting authentic and original work for assessments and properly acknowledging any sources used.

Academic integrity involves the ethical, honest and responsible use, creation and sharing of information. It is critical to the quality of higher education. Our academic integrity values are honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility and courage.

UC students have to complete the Academic Integrity Module annually to learn about academic integrity and to understand the consequences of academic integrity breaches (or academic misconduct).

UC uses various strategies and systems, including detection software, to identify potential breaches of academic integrity. Suspected breaches may be investigated, and action can be taken when misconduct is found to have occurred.

Information is provided in the Academic Integrity Policy, Academic Integrity Procedure, and University of Canberra (Student Conduct) Rules 2023. For further advice, visit Study Skills.

Learner engagement

Activity  Effort in Hours (Estimates)

Lectures, 12 @ 2 hours per week

Self Study

 24 

 30 
Tutorials, 11 @ 1 hour per week   11 
Quiz   5
Reflection   5
Individual Report   35
Project/Case Study Report (Group)  25
Presentation (Group)  15
Total   150 

 

Participation requirements

While attendance in classes is not compulsory, it is advisable that students attend as many classes as possible. Students will be assessed based on material covered in classes (lectures and tutorials), therefore, it is the individual student's responsibility to ensure that they are sufficiently familiar with this material. While the lecture notes and course material will be made available, these are intended to be broader outlines of class activities. Do not make the mistake of assuming that these materials are a substitute for class attendance. For the group presentations taking place during your allocated tutorial, students are required to be present with their groups. 

Required IT skills

This is a postgraduate level unit, and it is generally expected that students will have high-level knowledge of IT related matters. Students should also possess the ability to use a word processor for the production of assignments, be able to organise information suitable for class presentation, and have experience in using online search tools from the Internet and the library to undertake the various assignments required in the unit.

In-unit costs

None

Work placement, internships or practicums

None

Additional information

Announcements made at lecture or posted on the unit's Canvas site are deemed to have been made to all students. Students will be required to use their University of Canberra student email account for email communication with the unit convenor and anyone in the teaching team.